Letter to the Editor: Pheasant Hunting Program Under Fire

A letter to the editor from Derek Donnelly, Suffield resident

Did you know that Suffield is one of the premier destinations for pheasant hunting in New England?

In 2008, the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts spent $4.4 million dollars to purchase 450 acres on Babbs Road for the creation of a new wildlife management area.

The property used for pheasant hunting contains 196 acres in Suffield and an abutting 254 acres in Massachusetts. During hunting season, this land is available for hunting and both states have designated this area specifically for pheasant hunting.

In Connecticut, private groups like the Suffield Sportsmen Association have supplemented the state’s investment. That group added to the total amount of land available to hunt through the generosity of private Suffield landowners who allow hunting on hundreds of private acres. Access to these private lands is made available with a simple permit a licensed hunter can obtain at Suffield Hardware.

Each fall, scores of hunters have made their way to Suffield to hunt pheasants on hundreds of acres of public and private land.

Pheasants, not native to Connecticut, have been stocked by the state for nearly a century. Traditionally, pheasant hunting has been a sport of the aristocracy. Even today, in many places only sportsman who can afford hunting on a private reserve have the luxury of the sport. Not so in Connecticut, where the state has preserved the sport for the general public by stocking hunting areas through its pheasant program.

The sport of pheasant hunting has been a tradition for many families in Suffield going back generations and it is alive and well today. The amount of acreage available to hunt and the unique topography of the land have made Suffield an ideal locale for pheasant hunting. With the support of the state’s stocking program, Suffield has actually become a pheasant-hunting destination recommended by experts. As a result, each year, hunters from across New England come to enjoy our town.

Alas, that may all change soon.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s purposed cuts to the 2013 state budget call for the elimination of the Pheasant Program. The formidable news website, CT News Junkie ctnewsjunkie.com, broke the story. This cut would essentially end public pheasant hunting in Connecticut. What’s more, the pheasant program has no cost to the state taxpayers.

The pheasant program is self-sustaining and is not subsidized by Connecticut taxpayers. The budget for the program is determined by the revenue collected from the sales of firearms, hunting licenses and pheasant tags from the previous year's pheasant hunters* (see footnote below). The budget includes not only funds to purchase the birds, but also funds to manage the program, leaving no cost for taxpayers.

So, why would the state want to cut a self-sustaining program?

Well, the State of Connecticut has a budget cap and the pheasant program, despite paying for itself, still counts against that cap. Similar to a professional sports team allowing a player’s contract to expire, cutting the program would allow the state to remove about $160,000 against the cap each year moving forward. For one budget year, it would also give the state the option of “re-appropriating” the funds currently set aside for the program. Incidentally, the total cost of this program only represents about .000021 percent of the state's total budget.

In the big picture, however, that one-year savings of $160,000 is a red herring because a cut to the pheasant program will also hurt other revenue.

Historically, the state invested in pheasant hunting because it is an entry-level outdoor sport.  Hunters pay a great deal for the privilege to hunt in Connecticut. In 2011, the state took in nearly $3.2 million in revenue from the sale of hunting licenses, permits, stamps or tags. Growing the number of hunters in the future through a program that doesn’t cost taxpayers anything is a good investment in future hunting-related income for the state.

The pheasant program, of course, does more than just fill state coffers, preserve tradition and encourage new hunters to enter the sport. The program also encourages the appreciation of the outdoors and allows the public to utilize investments that the state has already made like the Suffield wildlife management area.

The pheasant program has generated countless hours of valuable recreation for many families in this state and, in particular, Suffield. It allows non-residents and residents alike to appreciate the beauty of our town. It is a tradition that I hope to share with my son one day. More so, the pheasant program has no cost to state taxpayers, and in today’s day and age, makes it a government program worth supporting.

Derek Donnelly

To voice your support for the pheasant program contact you can contact  Governor Dannel P. Malloy, State Representative Elaine O'Brien or State Senator John Kissel.

Footnote:

* To hunt pheasants in Connecticut, a hunter is must purchase a hunting license for $19 and a pheasant stamp for $28 (ironically, in 2010, sportsmen lobbied to raise the pheasant stamp to its current amount in order to continue funding the program). Additional revenue is derived from taxes on the sale of firearms that have been set aside according to Congressional Legislation such as the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 and the Dingle-Hart Legislation of 1970.

Suffield Patch welcomes letters to the editor from readers. Letters may be edited by Patch for length and clarity. Send them to perry.robbin@patch.com.